The present invention relates to the control of fabric washers and dryers and, more particularly, to communication therebetween.
Washers for clothes and other fabric loads have become more sophisticated over the years. Washers typically provide a wash cycle that includes filling the tub with water, agitating the load in water and detergent, emptying the tub of water and detergent, spinning the tub to further remove water and detergent from the load, filling the tub with water, agitating the load in water, emptying the tub of water, and performing a final spin operation to remove water from the load.
The washer often selects water temperature, the length of each operation in the wash cycle, the insertion of additional operations (e.g., cool down), and, perhaps, motor speed, all on the basis of a fabric type selection made on a fabric type selector on the washer.
In some cases, the quantity of fabric in the load is determined and used to determine such factors as desired fill height and the intervals for each operation of the wash cycle. The quantity of fabric has been determined from such direct methods as weighing the mass of the load and from indirect methods such as measuring the rate at which the tub initially fills with water.
Dryers for clothes and other fabric loads have also become more sophisticated. Dryers typically provide a drying cycle that includes a drying operation in which the load is tumbled while hot air passes through the fabric. This operation often includes a non-heated portion at the end in which fabrics are allowed to cool down. Many dryers also provide some kind of post-drying operation that minimizes wrinkles in the fabric, such as periodically tumbling the load. The temperature and timing of the drying cycle are often determined according to a fabric type selector on the dryer.
Dryers have also been provided with various techniques for estimating the time required to dry the load. These techniques include measuring the rate of change in humidity in the load, measuring the exhaust air temperature profile and others.